Verses 1-6, “How the gold has become dim! How changed the fine gold! The stones of the sanctuary are scattered At the head of every street. The precious sons of Zion, Valuable as fine gold, How they are regarded as clay pots, The work of the hands of the potter! Even the jackals present their breasts To nurse their young; But the daughter of my people is cruel, Like ostriches in the wilderness. The tongue of the infant clings To the roof of its mouth for thirst; The young children ask for bread, But no one breaks it for them. Those who ate delicacies Are desolate in the streets; Those who were brought up in scarlet Embrace ash heaps. The punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people Is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, Which was overthrown in a moment, With no hand to help her!”
When God judges, He sets everything right. So those who appear on the outside to have it all together, may actually be a mess spiritually speaking. The most notable Jews were being revealed for their sin, and receiving their just punishment. Our desire should not be to obtain greatness on earth, because it will not matter on the day of judgment. Jesus corrected this type of thinking in his disciples, making it clear that the last shall be first in the kingdom of heaven. Mark 9:33-37, “Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, “What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?” But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest. And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, “Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me.”
Verses 21-22, “Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, You who dwell in the land of Uz! The cup shall also pass over to you And you shall become drunk and make yourself naked. The punishment of your iniquity is accomplished, O daughter of Zion; He will no longer send you into captivity. He will punish your iniquity, O daughter of Edom; He will uncover your sins!” The neighboring nation of Edom was rejoicing at Judah's demise, totally unaware of their own sin and that they were next. Their judgment was prophesied through Jeremiah 49:12-13, “For thus says the Lord: 'Behold, those whose judgment was not to drink of the cup have assuredly drunk. And are you the one who will altogether go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, but you shall surely drink of it. For I have sworn by Myself,' says the Lord, 'that Bozrah shall become a desolation, a reproach, a waste, and a curse. And all its cities shall be perpetual wastes.' ”
God does not take pleasure in the death of the wicked, and therefore we should not rejoice when our enemies fall. Proverbs 24:17-18, “Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; Lest the Lord see it, and it displease Him, And He turn away His wrath from him.” It just might be that when God turns away his wrath from your enemy, that He deals with you for the wickedness and pride in your heart. We have a warning in the new testament not to repeat the folly of Esau, from whom the Edomites descended. Esau did not seek peace with his brother Jacob, but sought evil against him because his pride convinced him that he was wronged. Rather than examining himself in humility and realizing that he had fallen short, his focus was outward and he became bitter toward Jacob. God would now turn His attention to judging the sins of Edom for this very same attitude, which resulted in their poor treatment of Judah.
Comments
Post a Comment